Grammar Focus

Explicación (en español)

En esta unidad, utilizaremos los double comparatives (comparativos dobles) para describir procesos de cambio continuo o tendencias que evolucionan con el tiempo. Esta estructura se utiliza para indicar que algo está aumentando o disminuyendo de manera progresiva. En inglés, la estructura básica es comparative + and + comparative (por ejemplo: bigger and bigger).

Para adjetivos cortos (una sílaba), añadimos el sufijo -er (faster and faster). Para adjetivos largos (dos o más sílabas), utilizamos more and more o less and more (more and more expensive). Es fundamental recordar que para sustantivos contables usamos fewer and fewer (menos y menos) y para sustantivos incontables usamos less and less (menos y menos).

Un error muy común entre los hispanohablantes es intentar traducir literalmente "cada vez más" como "each time more" o "more and more each time". Aunque se entiende, la forma idiomática correcta es simplemente more and more. Otro error frecuente es confundir fewer con less. Recuerda: si puedes contar las unidades (e.g., bribes, officials, scandals), usa fewer. Si es algo abstracto o incontable (e.g., transparency, money, corruption), usa less.

En el contexto de la transparencia y la rendición de cuentas, esta estructura es vital para describir situaciones sociopolíticas. Por ejemplo, cuando la corrupción aumenta, podemos decir que "there is more and more corruption", o cuando la confianza disminuye, "trust is becoming less and less common".

Form — estructura

Examples

1. As the investigation continued, the evidence of bribery became more and more overwhelming. (A medida que la investigación continuaba, la evidencia de soborno se volvía cada vez más abrumadora).
2. There are fewer and fewer opportunities for honest businesses to compete in this market. (Hay cada vez menos oportunidades para que las empresas honestas compitan en este mercado).
3. Transparency in government is becoming less and less common in certain regions. (La transparencia en el gobierno es cada vez menos común en ciertas regiones).
4. The more the scandal grew, the more and more people demanded accountability. (Cuanto más crecía el escándalo, más gente exigía rendición de cuentas).
5. We are seeing fewer and fewer bribes being taken due to stricter laws. (Estamos viendo que se aceptan cada vez menos sobornos debido a leyes más estrictas).
6. The political situation is getting more and more complicated every day. (La situación política se está volviendo cada vez más complicada cada día).
7. There is less and less trust between the citizens and the authorities. (Hay cada vez menos confianza entre los ciudadanos y las autoridades).
8. As technology advances, it becomes more and more difficult to track illegal money flows. (A medida que la tecnología avanza, resulta cada vez más difícil rastrear los flujos de dinero ilegal).

Contrast

1. ✗ The corruption is becoming more and more increasingly. / ✓ The corruption is becoming more and more widespread. (No se debe usar un adverbio de grado como 'increasingly' junto a 'more and more' si el adjetivo ya cumple esa función).
2. ✗ There are less and less scandals every year. / ✓ There are fewer and less scandals every year. (Se usa fewer porque 'scandals' es un sustantivo contable).
3. ✗ The laws are getting more and more harder. / ✓ The laws are getting harder and harder. (No se puede usar 'more' con adjetivos que ya terminan en '-er').
4. ✗ We have less and less employees to monitor the funds. / ✓ We have fewer and fewer employees to monitor the funds. (Se usa fewer porque 'employees' es contable).

Mini-quiz — 10 preguntas

Part 1: Fill in the gaps with the correct form of the adjective in brackets.

1. As the audit progressed, the discrepancies became ___ (apparent).
2. Due to the new regulations, there are ___ (few) loopholes in the system.
3. The public is becoming ___ (impatient) with the lack of transparency.
4. There is ___ (little) accountability in the local administration than before.

Part 2: Multiple Choice. Choose the correct option (a, b, or c).

5. Because of the crisis, there are _____ people willing to work in public service. a) less and less b) fewer and fewer c) more and more

6. The complexity of international money laundering is getting _____. a) more and more b) much and much c) more harder

7. We are seeing _____ corruption in the private sector. a) fewer and fewer b) less and less c) more and more less

Part 3: Sentence Transformation. Rewrite the sentences using double comparatives to keep the same meaning.

8. The scandal is growing. It is becoming a huge problem. (Use: bigger and bigger)

9. There are fewer opportunities for transparency. (Use: less and less)

10. The government is losing trust. (Use: less and less) _______________

Respuestas: 1. more and more apparent 2. fewer and fewer 3. more and more impatient 4. less and less 5. b) fewer and fewer 6. a) more and more 7. b) less and less 8. The scandal is getting bigger and bigger. 9. There is less and less transparency. (Or: There are less and less opportunities... Note: In informal English 'less' is used, but 'fewer' is grammatically correct for opportunities). 10. Trust in the government is becoming less and less.